[musictlk] home studios: Mac vs. PC and control surfaces?

[Steve Jeffrey]

If you haven't already done so, you should contact Bill at Dancing Dots. 
Caketalking is an excellent way to go, it's easy to learn, very 
reliable, and will make it possible for you to record, mix, and master 
your music projects.

If you do stick with the PC, you should buy one that is designed for 
professional audio work. While it may be possible to use the standard 
Dell, HP, Acer etc, I wouldn't recommend it, you will only end up 
frustrated, and waist a lot of time trying to get things working properly.

Dancing Dots sells pro audio PC's, and can help you with selecting the 
right setup for what you are trying to do. I do not own one of their pro 
audio PC's, but know many who do, and they are all very happy with their 
computers.

Also if you are thinking of recording more than one instrument at a 
time, you will need to purchase a decent quality audio interface. I use 
and recommend the Focusrite  Saffire Pro 40, or if you don't need eight 
inputs, the Pro 24. There are Hotspots for both which make the software 
mixer/control panel fully accessible with JAWS.

As for the Mac vs PC question, that argument will continue as long as 
there are computers. I own both, but prefer to do all my audio work on 
the PC using Caketalking/Sonar. With a properly designed PC, you will 
have no problem doing audio.

Steve